Filed under: Spy Photos , Truck , Europe , Toyota The midsize truck segment is suddenly seemingly exploding with new vehicles worldwide, even here in North America. Not only will the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon be available very soon, Toyota is already testing a replacement for its aging Tacoma and Honda has promised a Ridgeline replacement within the next 18 months . Also, the recently shown Nissan Navara is said to portend the future of our Frontier . Here’s some more fresh evidence from Europe of this pickup boom with the next generation of its venerable Hilux in testing. Thanks to Top Gear and sometimes the evening news , the Hilux has built a reputation of being able to go just about anywhere. According to out spy shooter, this particular pickup was spotted during hot weather testing in southern Europe. Interestingly, a Volkswagen Amarok was along for the ride as a benchmark. Because the VW tends to offer a bit more comfort than the generally utilitarian Hilux, this could indicate Toyota is considering taking the new truck in a slightly comfier, more refined direction. Compared to the current model, this camouflaged tester sports a narrower front grille and headlights. The hood scoop is also absent here.

Filed under: Truck , Work , Ford , Toyota , Volkswagen , Holden , Australia , Diesel PickupTrucks.com has turned to its friends in Australia for a look at a few of the most popular midsize pickups found Down Under. The result is the Global Pickup Shootout that pits the reigning-champion Toyota Hilux against the Holden Colorado , Volkswagen Amarok and the Ford Ranger . Each truck was faced with a battery of tests that included on-road and off-road performance as well as design and value evaluations. How did the results shake out? The Toyota Hilux, which hasn’t seen a significant update since 2005, is clearly starting to show its age. The truck consistently found itself at the back of the pack, which resulted in a fourth-place finish overall with 29 points. By comparison, the third-place Volkswagen Amarok performed well in the overall value and design segments, but fell behind elsewhere. The German pickup took home 34 points in the evaluation. The real story here is just how close the first, second and third-place finishers were in the shootout. The Holden Colorado went home with just two more points than the Amarok, thanks largely to its first-place off-road performance, but fell to the Ford Ranger by just one point.

Filed under: Classics , Budget , Truck , Wagon , Videos , Toyota The Datsun 510 will always hold a special place in enthusiast’s hearts. The anonymous little coupes and sedans quickly established themselves as willing performers on the nation’s race tracks in the early ’70s. But while the goons at BRE were busy embarrassing other manufacturers in the Trans Am Challenge, scads of 510 Wagons contented themselves with family hauler duty. These days, the unloved wagons are easily outpaced by their two- and four-door compatriots at car shows, but the guys at Depth of Speed managed to find one very well-executed long roof 510 to hang out with for an afternoon. Unlike most tin top examples, this particular model came with a port-installed vinyl roof. The owner saw the ratted vinyl as an excuse to install a Volkswagen -style canvas sunroof and went to town. Years of tinkering later, the wagon now rides on a lowered stance with some sharp wheels. The machine isn’t perfect by any stretch – the paint doesn’t exactly match and there are dents and dings – but this one gets driven on its original engine. And that’s good enough for us. Oh, there’s also a bonus Toyota Hilux , too.

Filed under: Aftermarket , Truck , Etc. , Toyota , Specialty , Diesel , Off-Road Toyota has just wrapped up another impressive Antarctic expedition, this time traversing over 43,500 miles in the span of four months. In the process, the company says it snagged a new world record with three specially-prepared Hilux pickup trucks with each covering 5,903 miles of the frozen continent. Iceland-based Arctic Trucks handled converting the pickups for their stint in the cold, and while the alterations included creating at least two 6×6 versions, the 3.0-liter turbo-diesel engines had to be reworked to consume Jet A-1 fuel. In the low temperatures of the Antarctic, standard diesel would simply turn to jelly. The trucks were also outfitted with large tires running just 2-3 psi of air pressure, resulting in a contact patch around 17 times larger than a standard tire. Toyota reports the trucks ran incredibly well throughout the expedition and required no major repairs. Starting last November, Toyota sent a team of 10 Hilux trucks to the far south to establish fuel depots, a weather station and to support scientific expeditions along the way. Hit the jump for the full press release. Continue reading Toyota conquers Antarctic in jet-fueled Hilux pickups Toyota conquers Antarctic in jet-fueled Hilux pickups originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:31:00 EST.

Filed under: Aftermarket , Truck , Etc. , Toyota , Celebrities , Off-Road The Toyota Hilux can attribute a fair portion of the its celebrity to the Top Gear crew’s exuberant doting. After attempting to destroy the truck via a smattering of inhumane methods, traversing the frozen wastes of Antarctica and braving the fires of Icelandic volcanoes, the show has given the globe-conquering Toyota more love than nearly any other model. It looks as if that won’t slow down anytime soon. According to Toyota, Jeremy Clarkson , James May and Richard Hammond will once again take to the wheel of a specially-prepared Hilux for an all new challenge. Just what will that task entail? Toyota is keeping its mouth shut at the moment, and Top Gear isn’t typically one for spilling secrets early. Judging by the photos, however, it appears as if the vehicle will need to withstand substantial water crossings and support the trio for at least one night in the wild. Color us excited. Hit the jump for some of the vehicle’s finer moments on the show.

Filed under: Truck , Marketing/Advertising , Toyota , Australia Top Gear showed us just how sturdy the Toyota Hilux pickup truck can be. The plucky Brit trio put one poor truck through a series of increasingly harder challenges until they finally strapped it to the roof of a building destined to be demolished. After pulling it off the pile of rubble that used to be an apartment building, the Hilux was eventually started up, and later driven into the Top Gear studio. Needless to say, this is one tough truck we’re talking about here. Toyota knows its latest Hilux is tough, too, and the automaker has decided to play up this angle for a new series of commercial spots running in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Seeking to show just how unbreakable and manly its pickup is, the machine is put through its paces over hill and dale, from the desert to the top of snow-capped mountains… and it meets some strange blokes along the way. It’s also so manly that it even makes dainty women into something barely removed from… well, her husband. Click past the jump to see for yourself.

Filed under: Truck , Work , Toyota , Diesel 2012 Toyota Hilux – Click above for high-res image gallery When we think of Toyota icons, we tend to think of vehicles like the Prius , Land Cruiser , or perhaps the Corolla , the world’s best-selling nameplate. But entire towns have been built and many wars have been fought on the back of Toyota’s Hilux pickup. Celebrated the world over for its legendary ruggedness and anvil-like reliability, it’s been the workhorse of choice everywhere from Africa to Antarctica for decades. In other words, the debut of a new Hilux qualifies as a genuinely important development in global transportation. And while this isn’t an all-new model, there are a raft of changes worth noting for the new year. Starting with the obvious, the 2012 Hilux receives a completely new front clip, including new fenders headlights, bumper, hood, and three-bar grille. Additional changes include updated rear fenders, as well as new mirrors and alloy wheel designs. Inside, the changes are mostly minor, though there’s a new upper dashboard piece and an available 6.1-inch touchscreen multimedia system. Beyond that, Toyota cites “greater colour consistency throughout” and some silver trim bits as key changes. Underhood, the diesel-powered two-wheel-drive Hilux 2.5 D-4D gets a new variable nozzle turbo to boost power to 144 horses (+24) and 253 pound-feet of torque, all while lowering fuel consumption.